So Schwarzesmarken ends and the cheesy speeches not withstanding it not a bad ending. The Stasi are dismantled, West and East Germany have joined forces and things are looking up. However it turned out we have some causalities. The first being that white haired girl pilot whose name I can never remember and Irisdina. Not much fanfare was give for miss white hair but Irisdina got the full works. She has the satisfaction of taking out Axemann and died overlooking the birth of a new Germany. All of which is touching…if it wasn’t undermined by how she died. I give credit to her for beating the hell out of Axemann while handcuffed but she truly was screwed over when her teammate arrived with a gun and threw it to her. Instead of that teammate you know…shooting Axemann herself. It’s really hard to feel for a death that could have so easily been prevented and no matter how I try to rationalize it I can’t see any reason why she would have thought throwing the gun was better than shooting it. You can’t say she wasn’t acostumed to firearms because firearms training is a requirement for pilots. Those previous seconds shouting and throwing could have so been used to save her life and I am pretty annoyed that girl doesent hold any guilt over this.

Beatrixs goal is revealed to be a desire for Germany to sacrifice all personal identity in order to become a well oiled machine for the sole purpose of destroying BETA. Thus saving the world at the cost of East Germany’s individuality. Meanwhile Katia puts forwards that East and West Germany should put aside their differences and fight BETA together and with both their powers combined they would truly prevail. Beatrix dismisses this as idealistic nonsense and here’s the thing. I agree. Katia’s plan is really not a solution but more of a optimistic approach. That said I don’t find Beatrixs plan much of a solution either. At most her plan would end up with the same result as Katia’s which is not winning the war but rather prolonging the impending defeat. Simply put, these two people have truly no idea just how doomed Humanity is. For you see the BETA have Humanity on its last legs at this time and they haven’t even brought out the big guns yet. It would take some massive world leaping timey wimey stuff to score what could be considered a victory against them. So when hearing all this talk about hope and such I can’t help but pity these fools. I read the visual novel, I know what you face and you don’t stand a hope in hell. So all that’s left is the final battle and I find my thoughts on this series to be mixed.

In the large reservoir of anime it is surprising just how few titles focus on the concept of time travel. There are of course titles which feature time travel but few that make it the core focus. So here we have Boku Machi or ERASED, a tale about a mangaka time traveling to his childhood to prevent the deaths of children at the hands of a series killer. This series has some great presentation and direction though it does make it somewhat predictable in how it highlights what’s to come. Predictable does not mean boring though and this tale has a lot of heart. There are a number of great scenes that can play with your emotions and each episode does leave a feeling of dread for a tragedy to come. Though those episode cliffhangers do build up expectations which the ending fails to deliver.The female cast is ridiculously strong with Satorus mother being one of the best parenting figures one could have. Especially seeing as her initial impressions make her seem like a deadbeat parent. What is a shame is that one girl(Airi) in the cast is neglected despite having a great personality.

This is very much a slow paced show and a large amount of the shows runtime is devoted to one of the victims of the killer(Kayo) and Satoru’s efforts to free her from an abusive household. The tale is a moving one but it does push the main plot to the sidelines for quite a while. The mystery while not particularly deep provides the right level of intrigue to keep a viewer on their toes and a motive to keep a close eye on proceedings. There is a good bit of misdirection to keep you thinking and there are nice small touches throughout like the synchronisation of Satorus dialogue and monologue as well as the letterboxing of the past to give the feeling of being an outside observer. Some admittedly is a bit too forward in its execution but there is a lot of minor details that makes the story more interesting.

It does have its weaknesses as a show. Yuki Kajura provided a ill suited and uninspired soundtrack, the pacing can be too fast at times, the “villains” are exaggeratedly evil and to those looking for a smart mystery you will be disappointed. However I believe it’s positives do outway its negatives. Ultimately what decides your enjoyment of this show is your level attachment to the characters. The focus is clearly character driven and if you find yourself not caring for them, I am afraid the plot will not hold anything to compensate. But if you find yourself getting drawn into these character then I believe your experience with this show will be a positive one but remember to walk into it with the right expectations.

As I said before, an ending can change your entire perception of a series and in Boku machi’s case the ending is …decent. I can’t say I have any problems with it and I could consider it good. In all honestly it was hard to imagine a case where we could get an ending better than this considering the circumstances of how the last episode ended. A bombastic showdown between Satoru and Yashiro would be uncharacteristic of the show so far and Satoru’s current state stops them from having any real confrontation. So what it all boils down to is Satoru giving him a mental probing and egging him on to push him off a ledge. All to incriminate him so they can arrest him. Presentation wise, I like it. But when looking at it from a closer perspective I admit that Satoru’s plan looked to require a lot of assumptions. For one, how did he know Yashiro would push him off the roof? How did Yashiro manage to poison one of the medicines used in that girl’s surgery? How did they prevent that from happening? How did Satoru’s friends manage to inflate a cushion without drawing suspicion and where did they get one? There was also issues with the large amount of padding in this episode as it flashed back to scenes that happened not all that long ago.Lastly, no matter how it’s presented, having friendship be shown as the reason Satoru beats Yashiro is cringe worthy. Friends and connections are great and everything but when you outright state that your victory is owed to a little help from your friends then it always sounds lame. The biggest issue of all was the feeling of padding through this episode. The pacing has always been fast but for this episode things slowed down to a crawl as we go back to how Satoru got his memories back, have several sappy unnecessary speeches and reiterate what has already happened in the series. When looking over the episode you can see that not a lot actually happened in it and if this was the case I would have preferred to forgo the speeches and flashbacks for more scenes of the epilogue. One thing in particular that I felt needed much more fleshing out was Airi. It was an odd decision for Airi to be given such limited screentime if in the end she was to emerge the “Victor”. To someone watching the series, Satoru’s reaction to Airi looks to be a major overreaction so putting some extra time in the end for the two to bond under the bridge would have made a better conclusion than ending on an emotional reunion between our main and a character with very little screentime.

As per usual, I tend to check episode reviews on a show before writing these in order to gain an idea on the consensus of what was presented. The end of this show looks to have caused a division in the fanbase. Some express disappointment while others feel satisfied. I went out of my way to watch a youtube video from someone(Who I shall not name) who actively disliked the show. It was interesting to say the least as there were aspects of his argument I argeed with but didn’t see quite as detrimental to the series as he believed. What I found most fascinating was when this person made a comparison between this series and Steins Gate as he looked to deem that flawless while many of his problems he had with this series reflected my problems with Steins Gate. Such as a beginning which made it hard to invest myself in the story or some rather arbitrary rules for time travel.(One of the particularly amusing things I find about Steins Gate is that it’s explanation for Time travel isn’t time travel. It is in fact sliding as Okabe is traveling between alternate realities. Not traveling through time.) Through when thinking about this I noticed that the two shows do hold similarities. Now, I am aware that if you break down a show to it’s base components you can find similarities between virtually anything but still. Both shows hold a lie in its premise. Steins gate being that it alludes to be about a ragtag group taking on a elusive corporation with aid of a makeshift time machine. What it is actually about is a more traditional tale of someone trying to right a wrong after abusing time travel. Boku Machi in turn alludes to a tale about a mature man returning to his childhood to have a cat and mouse game with a serial killer. What it is actually about is more a character drama and thriller with Satoru attempting to right the wrongs in his past. In this regard I believe I see how there are those who were disappointed in how this all ended. Cliffhanger endings of each episode keep building up expectations the show wouldn’t deliver so I think what will determine your enjoyment of this series will depend on which aspects you focus on. I could go further but if I was to be perfectly honest I would state Boku Machi is the stronger of the two; simply because it took less time to get to it’s point. Say what you will but I am sure much of the praise for Steins Gate is for it’s second half and not it’s rather story light first half.

Certainly through all my moaning and complaining you might believe that I am discontent with this series now that it has finished; with that you would be incorrect. I may be acting overly critical but I am still quite pleased with how the series turned out. This may be because I lost interest with the manga over time and found the series kept that interest better than reading the story on paper. If I had a problem with the series it would be with Yuki Kajura because she really did not try with this soundtrack. It didn’t match the series in the slightest. Honestly Yuki; you can do better than this. I also consider this ending to be better to the manga equivalent which was disappointingly anti-climatic. You may consider this ending anti-climatic as well but in the manga we had over ten chapters building up a showdown between Satoru and Yashiro that ultimately gets resolved in a second. I found it rather dull and would swear that the manga was axed at just how quickly it all resolved. In that regard I think the anime did it better. Was there a better way to end this series? Maybe, but I pick the ending that didn’t set up the finale to be more than what it was.

Even without the aforementioned grudge it looks like Yakumo and Konatsu get along like oil and water. She changes her tune fast once she finds out he is a Rakugo performers but their relationship remains stiff and awkward. Something which based on the first episode doesn’t look like it’s going to change. One particular aspect I find interesting is how Konatsu views her mother with disgust. From Konatsu’s perspective it’s certainly understandable. After all Miyokichi sleeps around with other men and actively discourages Sukeroku from performing Rakugo again which Konatsu truly loves. Though having seen what we have seen this is perfectly logical. Her Parents relationship, sad though it may be, was born out of necessity. Miyokichi needed a man to depend on and Sukeroku needed a goal. However Miyokichi didn’t expect that Sukeroku without Rakugo is a worthless bum who can’t gain the drive to look for real work. So she returns back to the only way she knows how to make a living. As for her stopping him from performing Rakugo it’s obvious that it’s because it reminds her of Yakumo and she’s not over him yet. So the situation is that Yakumo has to convince Sukeroku to perform Rakugo again which is rather interesting when this situation was reversed before.

Sukeroku makes his problem clear. He can no longer see the audience and this was the problem Yakumo faced once before in the past. Before he polished his Rakugo but neglected to view the audience when performing which made his performances lacking. It was Sukeroku who taught Yakumo to see the audience and learn to pull them along with his flow. Now Yakumo must teach this again to Sukeroku though the solution isn’t as simple as it was with him. With Yakumo he was simply ignorant of his problem but Sukeroku is aware. Is it strange that I was reminded of the tale of Amaterasu when Yakumo managed to lure Sukeroku out by performing Rakugo in front of Konatsu? Perhaps I am looking too much into that but this did illustrate the difference between Yakumo and Sukeroku’s styles. When Yakumo tells the tale he starts scaring Konatsu by placing emphasis on the darker parts of the story. When Sukeroku jumps in and lightens it up with his style and we have our first duel performance by Sukeroku and Yakumo. Truly the dynamic between them is marvelous and rather than performing solo perhaps it would be better to combine their talents. At the end of their performance Yakumo begs Sukeroku to take up the name which personally I see no way that can possibly turn out well. Though it seems for now that Sukeroku’s problem is cured. For even if he can’t see the audience, perhaps he can look past them and perform for his daughter.

Everything looks to be gearing up for the finale but with the death of Lise goes a heavy amount of emotional commitment. I fear a key problem with this show has returned and that is that it’s difficult to get invested in the events on screen when we have no attachment to the characters. Lise is dead, Irisdina is captured and Katia has been relegated to an off screen position. That leaves us with Theodor and Gretel to carry the show. Neither of the two have been all that engaging though Gretel does have moments. Theodor has reached the end of his arc at this point; as other characters just have pointed out. What remains here is the endgame of defeating the Stasi and the question of just what they are going to do about the BETA horde at their doorstep. I am at least glad that Beatrix has taken up the lead role as main villain after discovering that her superior was a KGB operative who was planning to make east Germany a bulwark for Russia. I like that she didn’t make the stupid move of uncovering his motives without a backup plan. Guess Schmidt should have checked who his officers were getting orders from and he ends up with a bullet to the head from the officers he calls in to take down Beatrix. Now she’s in full command of the Stasi and that’s just the way I like it. Schmidt was never an interesting villain; he’s far too impersonal to the members of the Schwarzesmarken team. Beatrix makes for a much better threat coupled with the fact that she’s a great TSF poliet. We also get some insight into her motivations with her conversation with Irisdina. It’s looks like both Beatrix and Irisdina are trying to fulfil Irisdina’s brothers wishes in two different manners. Both seem to be trying to save Germany in their own way though Beatrix’s methods are more ruthless and unforgiving. It’s possible Beatrix might have been romantically involved with the brother as well which would explain the level of hate she has for Irisdina who had to kill her brother to save herself.

I really dislike the character who walks into Theodor mourning his sister and congratulates him on killing her. No matter how much of a horrible person someone is; you don’t walk into their funeral and congratulate their lover on becoming single. It’s just not something people do. I can’t say Theodor has been an interesting character as his arc has been one big sister complex. Now he’s that Mecha protagonist who’s really good at piloting and has a constant case of low self confidence. Meanwhile Gretel has been taken to the Stasi files Archive where Axemann reveals his agenda to come under Beatrix’s command and offers Gretel a chance to join the Stasi. However Axemann isn’t a pilot and didn’t take into account the communications transmitter Gretel has in her suit. The rebels rush in and Gretel gets shot and is now presumably dead; leaving the series in the hand of Theodor. This could have been a great scene had it not been for the fact that I truly don’t know Gretel well enough to emit an emotional response. I have more or less ground this point to dust but this really is the biggest problem with this show. The focus has been mainly on presenting the events of the story fast and foremost that no time has been spent on letting us get to know the characters. Which makes character moments within the story just feel empty. Lise worked because of the main stories big focus on her but when it comes to other characters it’s either out of nowhere or just not effective. One thing I haven’t commented on with this series is the music and it really is quite good. I felt it often gets overshadowed by the heavy amount of Mecha clashes and bullets but I like the German feel they went for. Mecha battles are quite excellent as well with some great CGI work. So all that’s left is the final battle and I find my thoughts on this series to be mixed. Though in all things considered this could have gone a lot worse.

When Satoru was almost killed I expected him to survive and I thought that it was likely going to result in him getting pulled out or time travel. What I didn’t expect was a time skip. Satoru was indeed pulled out of the car; however because of the incident he was put into a coma for fifteen years. All the while Sachiko was once again proving she’s likely the best mother in anime; what with her not only taking care of him all those years but even going out of her way to exercise his limbs so that that his muscles aren’t dead from underuse. This isn’t in the episode but there was a point where doctors attempted to convince her to pull the plug on Satoru and her answer was a short and resolute “Fuck you”. Well we are back in a new future and with it we have a massive change in characters and the narrative. A large part of this episode was dedicated to Satoru attempting to regain his now scrambled memory. A nice touch to the episode is that his inner monologue is now narrated by his child self rather than being narrated by his older self. Another nice touch was removing Satoru from the opening. Showing that he hasn’t quite regained his standing. What is likely to scorch many a viewer was the revelation about Kayo who is now happily married and with a child. I admit that even myself am not entirely unscathed by the revelation; especially when the series hinted heavily at them becoming an item. Though personally it makes sense that Kayo wouldn’t wait for a guy she knew only for a short period during childhood and while I don’t look at it this way, it removes the thought that Satoru “won” Kayo. I am sure there are those who could look at this as a Genji Monogatari situation if Kayo ended up becoming Satoru’s wife so at least that notion can be tossed aside and we can see that Satoru truly is just happy to see her living a full life.

Due to hearing that this episode diverged quite a bit from the manga, I made it a point to read up on how the manga dealt with the events in this episode and I can confirm that the anime has more or less gone anime original. Is that a bad thing you wonder? Well truthfully I am uncertain. The manga does expand upon questions of what went on while Satoru was in a coma and the process of him reclaiming his memory is a much more gradual process than the almost instant revelation at the end of this episode. One particular thing I wish was kept was Yashiro’s backstory which a small part was given during this episode’s opening but their is much more to his past. If you are interested then you can read chapter chapter 32 of the manga as it is dedicated to detailing his past. Another thing I wish they hadn’t changed was the change of having Yashiro prevent the photographers from deframing Satoru instead of Airi. Airi encountering Satoru was a big part of helping him regain his memory though I believe the reason it was left out was because it also caused him to slip into a coma again for another year. That and Airi hasn’t had much of a presence in the anime series. But as I said before, this doesn’t mean I think the manga did it better. It is true you get more detail and a more gradual recovery from Satoru but it’s very uneventful. When watching this episode I was already getting impatient with Satoru as it really was just a waiting game of him realizing what the audience already knows. The manga is ten thirty page chapters which are mainly about Satoru recovering his memory. It is long, drawn out and I found myself getting bored as I read. This is good moments in this but if animated I could certainly see people getting frustrated with the almost agonizingly slow pace. I can only imagine how manga readers felt as each monthly chapter moved the plot along at a snail’s pace. The anime pretty much trimmed the fat and gave us the cliffs notes on what happened though the final confrontation is different.

We missed a small cat and mouse game between Yashiro and Satoru as they prevent him from taking another victim and skip right to a head on conflict which is a little bit of a shame. But we do have tension as Yashiro gets closer to Satoru as a friend to likely keep an eye on him. I find it engaging as it tempts the situation of Yashiro saying something to trigger Satoru’s memories or the potential possibility of him deciding to silence Satoru for good. The anime’s pacing is faster and more to the point, perhaps too fast. So you may understand my indecisiveness in deciding which handled the story better. On one side you have a fast to the point version of events which leaves out the finer details and on the other you have a far too slow version which gets boring at points but has far more of a build up. I guess the deciding factor on which approached it the best will be the next episode of the anime as I certainly have no idea what Satoru has planned considering he revealed that he has his memory back to the killer when he’s in no position to fight back. That isn’t the only thing the next episode decides as I have said once before on the finale of Madoka. This last episode is what decides Erased/Boku Machi’s status for the future. Either a must watch classic every anime fan needs to see or it being that show that was really good up until the ending. An ending can change your entire outlook on an anime and I certainly hope that this one doesn’t disappoint.

I swear these anime seasons go by so fast. Hard to believe I have been doing this for about a year and half now; even harder to believe that I am the one still doing it. In old days of Psgels if you told me that I would be the guy one day writing the posts I would claim you were mad. Yet here I am, the one and pretty much only writer of the site. Can’t say I signed up for that but well you can’t fight fate so I am here for better or worse. Who knows, maybe one day I will stop making spelling mistakes in these posts. (That will be the day)

I must admit that the quality of the past winter season was marvelous. There were quite a number of really great enjoyable titles. KonaSuba, Buranko Buranki, Dagashi Kashi, Ajin ERASED, Rakugo and even the more flawed shows like Schwarzesmarken being quite watchable. A very strong season in my opinion. So much so that I dared not mention it for fear of jinxing it. This upcoming season might not be quite as strong but we do have some contenders which has me hopeful that this season won’t be a disappointment.

The rules remain the same as the last previews. The sequels and prequels are listed below. If you liked the previous series then by all means continue. My picks for blogging this season are Re:zero and whatever takes my fancy during the quick first impressions. Sakamoto is looking to be a safe bet for my second choice but I am reluctant to blog a straight out comedy due to it being a highly subjective affair and lacking much to talk about. A Strawpoll is below to decide the third series I will cover. If I happen to pick the series listed first as my personal second blogging choice then the second highest voted series will be the winner. You have more than one vote so go nuts.

Series I don’t look forward to

12-sai.: Chiccha na Mune no Tokimeki

The story begins with Hanabi, a sixth-grade girl who is neither an adult nor a child. She deals with issues such as accidentally witnessing her homeroom teacher kissing, and worrying about experiencing physiological changes before her friends. This is the depiction of a 12-year-old girl’s innocent worries and first love.

We got nothing. No staff, no translated source material. Only thing I can say is that the studio has animated a lot of Pokemon and kids shows. They did some mature stuff in the old days but now it seems they tend to shoot for the younger demographic. To me this looks like what you see is what you get.

Aikatsu Stars!

Aikatsu Stars! features the protagonist Yume Nijino. Yume aims to become a top idol, and she enrolls in the Yotsusei Gakuen. This academy has a special group called the S4, who are the top four active idols in the school. Yume and the other first-year students aim to become a part of the S4.

Bah! Look at all the colour. It’s like someone decided to binge on skittles while drinking only to vomit up on paper. Truly nothing on this one, not even an animation studio. There’s a school for idols to teach them how to market themselves out like plastic barbie dolls so they can earn enough money to drown their shame in barrels of cocaine when they are older. Sadly that isn’t what this show is actually about.

Big Order

10 years ago a child wished for the destruction of the world. Now a Group of people has the ability which grants their wishes depending on their power. They are called “Order User”.Before these great people who has the power of “Order”, One person excels most, with the ability to rule and conquer the world and turned people into puppet when it is on his Jurisdiction, that power belongs to Hoshimiya Eiji, who is also responsible with the destructive phenomena happened exactly 10 years ago.

From the author of Mirai Nikki(Future dairy) comes Mirai Nikki…again. Now to me there is pretty much only one reason for the anime of Mirai Nikki to exist and that was to show off one of the greatest examples of a yandere to grace the anime medium. Other than that it was a plot hole filled mess that pretty much could only qualify for a guilty pleasure. Big Order is very much a retread of Mirai Nikki. We have a poor man’s Yuno in the female protagonist and the story is essentially a battle royal between supernatural power users. The protagonist is better than what we had before however the issues with plot holes and wasted potential setups remains. Without Yuno, I say this series isn’t really worth the time. There are interesting ideas present in the story but the author can’t really use them to their fullest potential.

Bungou Stray Dogs

Nakajima Atsushi was kicked out of his orphanage, and now he has no place to go and no food. While he is standing by a river, on the brink of starvation, he rescues a man whimsically attempting suicide. That man is Dazai Osamu, and he and his partner Kunikida are members of a very special detective agency. They have supernatural powers, and deal with cases that are too dangerous for the police or the military. They’re tracking down a tiger that has appeared in the area recently, around the time Atsushi came to the area. The tiger seems to have a connection to Atsushi, and by the time the case is solved, it is clear that Atsushi’s future will involve much more of Dazai and the rest of the detectives!

This story is lacking the hook to get me interested. The premise is pretty overdone and the characters are simply are bunch of rather bland eccentrics. It reminds of of blood blockade battlefront in how it deals with a organization of super powered individuals stopping supernatural crimes. Only difference is that this time the characters are named after famous Japanese novelists and their powers after famous works of literature. It’s rather cosmetic though and holds not much significance. It’s possible that with the right direction this could turn into something more worthwhile but judging solely from this I say it’s rather mediocre.

Endride

The story is set on Endra, an unknown world beneath the surface of Earth itself. It is another world, where the giant Adamas shines above and seven-colored bands drift across the skies. One day, Shun Asanaga — an ordinary yet positive and bright 15-year-old middle school boy who lived in the “Land Above” — lands in this place. He had discovered a mysterious crystal at his scientific businessman father’s company, and the moment he touched the crystal, he was transported to Endra. He meets Prince Emirio, who strongly despises the current King Deruzain and had just turned 16 at Endra’s castle. He became of age to ascend to the throne, and he wields a weapon to seek his vengeance at last, but the difference in strength proves to be insurmountable. Captured and imprisoned by Deruzain, Emirio is heartbroken. But then, the walls of the prison suddenly become distorted, and Shun appears within them. Two youths live in Endra — one to return his former world, and one to exact revenge. The future that is within the grasp of two youths raised in different worlds…

Brains base normally gives me hope for a show but in this case I am not seeing much potential. The Story isn’t interesting from the description and the art-style looks generic. The staff doesn’t inspire much hope either as neither the director or Series composer has worked on anything all that worthwhile. I am fairly willing to bet this won’t be worth anyone’s time.

Gakusen Toshi Asterisk 2

Second season of Gakusen Toshi Asterisk.

So why is it that in a season with two shows that were highly similar, the lesser of the two gets a sequel? Japan, sometimes I just don’t get you.

Gekidol

A multimedia project that will combine stage theater, anime, and idols.

No source material, no staff information, PV that explains nothing about the show. I got nothing. The only thing I can tell you is that the studios only notable work is Mysterious Girlfriend X. Everything else they made is either anime that’s softcore porn or some genuine porn. Based on that; not much hope for this one.

Hundred

The story begins with the Hundred, the only weapon that can counter the mysterious Savage life form attacking Earth. To become a Slayer (master of military arts) who wields this Hundred, the main character Hayato Kisaragi successfully enrolls in the marine academy city ship Little Garden. However … “I wanted to meet you, Hayato!!” “W–who are you…?” Hayato feels a strange yet familiar sense of incongruity towards Emil Crossford, his roommate who somehow knows him from somewhere. On top of that, as soon as he enters the school, he is challenged to a duel by the “Queen” (the school’s most powerful Slayer) Claire Harvey!

Boy goes to magic high school, boy meets girl, girl challenges boy to duel, later sees a girl naked…you know where this is going. It’s been done. It was done last season and the season before that. It is the same story with palette swapped heroines. It has been done so many times that I wonder why it still sells. Just give this one a pass, it’s a no effort light novel.

Hai Furi

“In the sea we live, the sea we protect, and by the sea we go.” Japan, 100 years after plate subductions caused many other countries to be submerged. To save the remaining countries, the coastal cities that had been built up were launched into the seas, and the seaborne routes between them expanded. With this expansion, a need for personnel that could safeguard the seas arose. Women began to seek employment in this new industry, and soon, the “Blue Mermaids,” those who keep the sea safe, began to be a source of admiration for many. The childhood friends Akeno Misaki and Moeka China sought to become Blue Mermaids themselves, and together with others who shared their dream, they enrolled in Yokosuka’s Marine High School.

In reading this synopsis I went from a number of reactions. First I was expecting a school slice of life but found the synopsis talking about sea warriors. So it’s like a Kantai collection ripoff, but hey maybe it could put more creativity into the idea. Just when some hope that this might be something worthwhile the last words hit. “they enrolled in Yokosuka’s Marine High School.” Truly these words can kill interest faster than a lecture on the fundamentals of geology. So the studio has pretty much nothing worthwhile and this is the director’s second anime. The series composer seems experienced but this looks like a “just in it for the paycheck” job. I would be surprised if this was something notable.

Netoge no Yome wa Onnanoko ja Nai to Omotta?

The story centers on Hideki Nishimura, a young man who confessed to a person he thought was a girl online, only for that person to turn out to be a boy. He keeps this “black history” secret and swears to never to trust a “girl” online again. However, one day a girl online confesses to him, and it turns out she’s actually a beautiful girl named Ako Tamaki. Ako cannot tell the difference between the online world and reality, and she is a loner who has trouble communicating. Hideki and his friends from his guild decide to work together to “correct” her.

This is pretty much every teenage MMO players wet dream. Those people you play online with are all beautiful girls and one of them is totally into you! Wish fulfillment to the max and I find the mentality of the story to be rather outdated. Girls wanting to play MMOs?! Ridiculous. Here on the internet men are men, Women are men and children are FBI agents. These days anyone with a phone can access the internet. Finding a real girl isn’t as hard as you think. Now finding a hardcore gamer who happens to be a gorgeous girl, single, nearby and ready to be molded into your perfect girlfriend? Yeah, that would take some effort. And a miracle. My particular gripe with this is that the setup has to do with this girl not being able to distinguish between games and reality. I despise this as it’s a common utterly nonsensical argument people opposed to video games throw out. It’s just stupid, if a person cannot tell between what happens on screen and what happens in reality then they are either idiotic or have much more serious mental problems. So what is this show about. Well a guy finds himself in a school club which is made up of eccentric girls he met online. Remember Haganai? Basically that. At most mildly watchable but more likely a dull forgettable show.

Pan de Peace!

The 4koma centers around Minami, an airheaded girl who is starting high school and who loves eating bread for breakfast. Baked goods bring happiness everyday to her and her classmates — the reliable Yuu, the pastry-baking Fuyumi, and the independent Noa.

It’s a four Koma comedy manga about cute girls eating bread and frankly, my dear. I don’t give a damn. And lets be honest; neither do you.

Kidou Senshi Gundam RE: 0096

U.C. 0096. Three years after Char’s rebellion, Banagher Links, a boy who lives on the manufacturing colony Industrial 7, meets a mysterious girl named Audrey Burne. She claims to seek to prevent a potential war by interfering with the transfer of “Laplace’s Box” from the Vist Foundation to a Neo Zeon remnant group known as the “Sleeves”. However, when a Federation squad also sent to prevent the transfer clashes with the Sleeves, the colony is plunged into battle. As Banager races through the flames in search of Audrey, one other fateful encounter awaits him—the Unicorn Gundam, a pale white mobile suit that’s the key to Laplace’s Box. What is Laplace’s Box? What are the secrets that it holds? For the first time in 100 years, light will shine on the darkest secrets of the Universal Century…

With the OVA covering the story of Gundam Unicorn extensively I don’t really see the point of having an anime to expand upon it. To me this seems like the OVA is going to be chopped up into a series with some small extra scenes. I have no interest in watching that.

Seisen Cerberus: Ryuukoku no Fatalité

The anime is set in a continent ruled by sword and magic called Kunaaan, where a power balance between the Holy Kingdom of Amoria, the Kingdom of Ishilfen, and the Vanrodis Kingdom keeps a peace so unstable that any tragedy that befalls any one kingdom will mean war for the entire continent. Another power, the evil dragon Daganzord, also resides on the continent, and no one is powerful enough to stop him from spreading destruction and charred land in his wake. Two individuals, Bairo and Kismitete, undertook a ritual alongside a party of wizards to seal Daganzord, but were foiled. This event was known thereafter as the Balbagoa Tragedy. Bairo and Kismitete’s son Hiiro is saved by Giiru, and Hiiro swears to avenge his parents’ deaths and trains himself with the sword. When Hiiro turns 16, he sets out on a journey to slay the dragon, and Giruu accompanies him, having no choice. Along the way, they meet many types of people, and gain companions on their journey.

Based on a card battle game I don’t hold much hope in this one. The premise is overdone and out of the card game based animes recently; they tended to end up mediocre. The series composer does have potential though; being the same man behind Birdy Decode and quite a number of Eureka Seven episodes. It’s just that I look at this and it’s all too familiar for my tastes. Even done well it’s a derivative of what has been done many times before.

Shounen Maid

The manga revolves around Chihiro Komiya, an energetic elementary school student who was living with his mom. Chihiro is very good at doing housework and chores, and his mother’s motto is “No work, no food.” After his mother suddenly dies, a man named Madoka Taketori who claims to be his uncle shows up, and asks Chihiro to come live with him. Chihiro initially refuses, but when seeing the horribly dirty state of Madoka’s rich home, he decides to start cleaning it. Then Madoka makes another offer to Chihiro: that he comes to live with him, but in exchange Chihiro will do the housework. Chihiro accepts this deal, but suddenly finds himself in a maid uniform.

I am guessing this was supposed to be a comedy. So a boy loses his parents and is taken in by his relative who is creepy and volatiles personal space. Because of the boys sensibilities to pay back what he’s given; he agrees to act as a cleaner for the house. His relative this dresses him up in a maid outfit and forces him to clean in that because it’s “cute”… Um…this is a comedy right? Not some kind of disturbing horror show? I am pretty sure this is worthy of calling child services on. I read what I can stomach of the manga so the anime gets a nope from me.

Super Lovers

A high school boy named Haru and his mother are living overseas. His mother orders him to take care of and “civilize” his adoptive brother Ren, a wild young boy who dislikes talking with other people. While their relationship is adversarial at first, they grow closer as they begin to understand one another.

I knew going into this manga that it’s clearly not for me but for the preview I must give everything a chance. I admit that the story is more tastefully done than I expected and I think there are those who could find this interesting. The idea of a person taking care of a feral boy is at least somewhat interesting. The issue I take with the manga is likely its main drawing point; the romance. I have no issues with homosexual relationships but regardless of gender, a romance between a grown adult and underage child is very creepy. I will just leave this off by saying it’s not for me.

Kamiwaza Wanda

The story is set in a world where every event has been turned into programs, and mysterious monsters known as “Promin” maintain the world. However, many Promin who have turned into bugs known as “Bugmin” are responsible for many of the world’s real-life bugs. Left alone, they may eventually turn into a big problem. The boy Yūto encounters the space dog Wanda, and the pair use a camera-like device and key items to capture Bugmin. Promin themselves are able to do things like “accelerate objects,” “spew fire,” or “create objects,” through an ability known as “Kamiwaza” (miracle), and are able to fend off Bugmin with it. At first, the Bugmin only cause small, bothersome things, but it will soon elevate into a global scale threat. Can one boy and one dog save the world?

It’s a kids show about some kid using Digimon to save the world. The studio has some fairly decent stuff though this looks like a typical kids show. Personally I am more interested in how this studio will handle an adaption of ReLife. The series composer has done a lot of screenplays though his series composer shows are not too noticeable besides Blue Gender. Well who knows, could be fun.

Sansha Sanyou

The comedy manga follows the everyday life of three very different high school students. Futaba Odagiri is incredibly energetic but is also a glutton. Teru Hayama looks like an angel but she is really a demonic class president. Youko Nishikawa is the daughter of family that used to be a member of the upper class, but after her father’s company went bankrupt, they became poor.

Cute girls + cute things = bored Aidan. Well looks like a typical cute girls do cute things show and the studio has done quite a few of them. It’s also the studio that did the Grisaia Adaptions. So let’s just move along.

Sword Gai

The story revolves around Gai, who was born beside a woman who met her death in a forest. He was adopted by the swordsmith Amon. A few years later, Gai becomes Amon’s apprentice, and during the forging of a sword, he loses his right arm. To help him, Amon crushes the demon sword Shiryuu (lit. Death Dragon) to form it into Gai’s replacement right arm. Gai then is able to fuse with the weapon on his arm, and fights against his enemies.

Pretty certain this is a short 5 to 15 minute show based on whose animating it. Other than that no other information on this. There’s nothing to say here. We just have to see how it turns out.

Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge

Tanaka who is a high school student simply is a slacker and does not want to do anything at all. He loves to sleep during classes and prefers not moving to save energy. One day he meets his classmate, Ota who is exactly the opposite. Ota is energetic and leader in class. He becomes friends with Tanaka and tries to make him start moving. Based on a popular comic from Nozomi Uda.

It’s a comedy about a guy that’s really lazy. That’s pretty much the only joke and it’s not funny.

Unhappy♪

The story centers around class 1-7 of Tennogofune Academy, where all the students with “bad karma” or misfortune seem to have been gathered. Hibari, a student in this class, meets the unlucky Hanako and the perennially unhealthy Botan on her first day of school, and together they try to find a way to turn their school life into a happy one.

These people look very happy to me. What deplorable false advertising. Can’t someone provide a title the niche audience that desires emo girls doing emo things? Directors hit or miss, its silver link so it’s bound to be decently animated.

Series I am middling on

Bakuon!!

The story revolves around high school girls who discover the appeal of motorcycles. Sakura Hane is a high school student who looks a little bit like an airhead. On the way to her all-female high school one day, she is worn-out climbing a hilly road with a bicycle, but she sees a girl named Onsa Amano who is riding a motorcycle. Sakura immediately becomes interested in motorcycles, and she and Onsa join the motorcycle club at the school. Then, Sakura sets out to get her license.

Cute girls love motorcycles sums it up nicely. A cute girl gets interested in motorcycles, joins a school club about motorcycles (A school approving a club that would have serious health and safety issues?) That has three other quirky motorcycle enthusiasts which includes a girl who never removes her helmet or speaks. It’s not original by a longshot but for what it is; it’s done better than most. Ultimately inoffensive and mindless entertainment.

Boku no Hero Academia

What would the world be like if 80 percent of the population manifested extraordinary superpowers called “Quirks” at age four? Heroes and villains would be battling it out everywhere! Becoming a hero would mean learning to use your power, but where would you go to study? U.A. High’s Hero Program of course! But what would you do if you were one of the 20 percent who were born Quirkless?Middle school student Izuku Midoriya wants to be a hero more than anything, but he hasn’t got an ounce of power in him. With no chance of ever getting into the prestigious U.A. High School for budding heroes, his life is looking more and more like a dead end. Then an encounter with All Might, the greatest hero of them all gives him a chance to change his destiny…

It really was only a matter of time before this got an anime as it is the very kind of Shounen that becomes exceedingly popular. The manga isn’t bad by any means and under the direction of Bones this is likely going to end up a very good Shounen series. Though I feel it’s very run of the mill and predictable as far as these stories go. Upon first reading it I thought would would be a story of a normal person in a superhero world becoming the equivalent of that universe’s Batman. Sadly it’s more of a tale about him inheriting the role of this world’s Superman. Once the superhero school is introduced I began to get bored very quickly as the plot ticked all the boxes you would expect if you are familiar with the genre. Again if you haven’t seen a lot of these stories or just like them in general then it will be a fun ride. It’s Naruto with Superheroes instead of ninjas. As far as anime goes this is a fairly safe bet to be some fans hit of the season.

flying witch

Aomori, Japan. In a land blessed by nature’s bountiful beauty, bizarre things begin to take place. Makoto Kowata, 15 years old, is a professional witch. She left Yokohama with Chito, her black cat, to live in the house of her relatives in Aomori. This is where she begins to train as a witch. Even though Makoto’s powers are still limited to just flying through the sky, she and her second cousins Kei and Chinatsu surely make the most out of each and every day.

There’s not much to say about this one. It’s mainly a slice of life about a girl who’s a witch. Some comedy and fairly easygoing. Somewhat reminiscent of Kiki’s Delivery service. A readable title which will become a decent anime if done right.

Gyakuten Saiban

CAPCOM announced at a stage event at Tokyo Game Show on Thursday that its Ace Attorney (Gyakuten Saiban) courtroom battle game franchise is getting a TV anime adaptation that will premiere in Japan in April 2016.

Looks like hell has frozen over because there is a Phoenix wright anime adaption in front of me. My reaction to this is curiosity, but not excitement. The old rule of video game adaptations being below average has been proven time and time again but this game’s status as a game/visual novel puts that into question. Thing is this game is made by Capcom and they are well known for absolutely terrible writing. I have played the first two games if the series so I know what I am in for and let me tell you this. The story of these games is very silly. There are good aspect in the murder mystery style of the cases but this series is very lighthearted when it comes to the plot. People may die but it’s hard to take that seriously when you have a cast of overly eccentric people around. What will make or break this adaption is the highlight of the games themselves, the courtroom debates. This series needs to capture that over the top epic feeling with Phoenix’s “objection!!” as well as the desk slams and reactions. We need to blow everything out of proportion and if they can manage that then this anime will be something pretty good. Otherwise I see a weak video game adaption coming.

JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken: Diamond wa Kudakenai

Part 4 focuses on Josuke Higashikata, the illegitimate son of Joseph Joestar, with Jotaro Kujo and Joseph Joestar along in a supporting role.

Stardust Crusaders has diminished my love for this series a bit so I am not quite as excited to see a sequel. It wasn’t bad but it got fairly repetitive and the rule of cool can only carry you so far. This time people are calling out that this is the pinnacle of the series though I doubt that as people said the same about Stardust. The fact of the matter is that; how does one top what has come before? Jojo has always managed to top itself by getting more and more ridiculous but I feel that once we are past Freddy Kruger babies and Gorilla with a boat stand that we have reached a zenith. The good thing about Jojo is that with every part comes a new cast and villain so perhaps they can make it work if we have more interesting main characters to work with. ( Though Jotaro is still here and Jotaro got boring fast)

Kiznaiver

The fictional Japanese city named Sugomori City is built on reclaimed land. But as the years go by, the city’s population is decreasing. One day, Sonosaki tells her classmate Katsuhira: “You have been selected to be a Kiznaiver.” The Kizuna System, which allows Katsuhira to share his wounds, connects him to the classmates whose lives and personalities completely differ from his. The Kizuna System is an incomplete system for the implementation of world peace that connects people through wounds. All those who are connected to this system are called Kiznaivers. When one Kiznaiver is wounded, the system divides and transmits the wound among the other Kiznaivers.

It’s Studio triggers new original anime. Quite frankly I could leave it at that. Do you even need any more information? They have already proven they can make some great shows with a hamstring budget. Given a half decent budget after some adaptations I expect nothing less than a damn good watch. Nothing particularly deep but entertaining without doubt. However there is a problem with this one. For one the synopsis is a bit complicated for a Tigger style anime and the other is that Mari Okada is the series composer. This doesn’t look to be Triggers usual fair and while Okada did good with Gundam; I still have misgivings about her. Not to mention this isn’t the only anime she’s composing this season. The director is a first timer so we just have to wait and see with this one.

Koutetsujou no Kabaneri

As the world is in the middle of an industrial revolution, a monster appears that cannot be defeated unless its heart, which is protected by a layer of iron, is pierced. By infecting humans with its bite, the monster can create aggressive and undead creatures known as Kabane. On the island Hinomoto, located in the far east, people have built stations to shelter themselves from these creatures. People access the station, as well as transport wares between them, with the help of a locomotive running on steam, called Hayajiro. Ikoma, a boy who lives in the Aragane station and helps to build Hayajiro, creates his own weapon called Tsuranukizutsu in order to defeat the creatures. One day, as he waits for an opportunity to use his weapon, he meets a girl named Mumei, who is excused from the mandatory Kabane inspection. During the night, Ikuma meets Mumei again as he sees Hayajiro going out of control. The staff on the locomotive has turned into the creatures. The station, now under attack by Kabane, is the opportunity Ikoma has been looking for.

From the studio that brought us Attack on Titan comes an original anime that sound a lot like it. This is a mixed situation. We have the series composer who brought us Code Geass and Planetes; But has also given us Valvrave. We have the director of Death note, Kurozuka, attack on Titan and High school of the dead; but he has also given us Guilty crown. Sawano is here ready to give us an epic soundtrack that will likely be reminiscent of his Attack on Titan work. With all these players here we could get something special but the anime does feel to me like wit studio is trying to make lightning strike the same place twice.

Kuma Miko

The story follows Machi, a middle school student who serves as a shrine maiden at a Shinto shrine enshrining a bear in the recesses of a certain mountain in Japan’s northern Touhoku region. Machi’s guardian is a talking bear named Natsu, and one day Machi says to Natsu, “I want to go to a school in the city.” The worrywart Natsu then gives Machi — who is ignorant in the ways of the world — a set of trials that she must pass in order to be able to survive in the city.

A little girl wants to go to school in the city while her talking bear guardian says she can’t because she’s a country bumpkin. The series basically involves comedy as the bear tests her on being ready for the city. The girl is old fashioned seeing as she finds chopping wood for a boiler is better than making use of electricity. I like how the bear is the one who’s tech savvy and is often making use of Ipads and the internet. Its amusing but I do feel its rather typical for this kind of comedy. For example, yet again we have a character who is in love with another character whose oblivious to their affections. Is their some sort of rule that requires that all simple comedies have this? It’s an alright read which could be a fun watch.

Kuromukuro

An original anime by studio P.A. Works in celebration of the studio’s 15th anniversary. It will debut in 2016.

I was rather happy to see PA works go for a Mecha anime as I feel they need to change up the formula. They are a bit too fond of the school slice of life and need to take steps away from it. Then I watched the PV for this and found that no Mecha were present and there was plenty of Highschool slice of life. They don’t look to be moving too far away from their speciality. The series composer has Another and a couple of episodes of Morbitio under his belt and the director has been involved with a number of big names; though not always as a director. He’s directed Blue exorcist, Seven deadly sins, Darker than Black OVAs and Wolf’s rain. But he’s done storyboarding for the likes of Cowboy Bebop, Samurai Champloo and a one or two episodes of Evangelion and soul eater. He’s even done Key animation for the Ghost in the shell movie and Ninja Scroll. He’s got an admittedly impressive CV though I still don’t hold much hope for this one. It depends on which side of this show is more prevalent, the school slice of life or the Mecha.

Mayoiga

30 young men and women who came together on a shady bus tour. The tour’s destination: an illusive, possibly nonexistent village called Nanakimura. In Nanakimura, one can lead a utopian existence, free of the world’s obstacles … or so it was rumored, like an urban legend.
“In despair over the real world … wanting to escape the tedious daily life … wanting to restart your life from scratch …”
The bus headed deep into the mountains, carrying 30 people each harboring their own expectations and wounds in their hearts…
And so, the place these 30 arrived at, was an uninhabited village with the lingering faint scents of life, even though it was falling apart.
What is the truth of Nanakimura facing the 30? You can’t miss even one episode

This one is curious. It happens to be the another show Mari Okada is writing for this season.(Let other writers get some work Okada for crying out…) The premise is fascinating; looking to be an otherworldly exploration on life and the afterlife. Though it’s too soon as all I really have to go on is a vague description. Personally I would like it to be a horror anime as we have very little great examples of it but for all we know it’s a slice of life about people starting over in the country. However the studio has made a lot of terrible anime; their redeeming titles being Bokurano and Ore no Nounai Sentakushi ga, Gakuen Love Comedy wo Zenryoku de Jama Shiteiru. The director has Shirobako and Xxxholic as his previous work though he also worked on Blood C and Another. Which makes me wonder if we are going to get so ultra violence in this particular title. This looks to be a wait and see kind of title.

Sousei no Onmyouji

Rokuro dreams of becoming anything but an exorcist! Then mysterious Benio turns up. The pair are dubbed the “Twin Star Exorcists” and learn they are fated to marry…
Can Rokuro escape both fates?
When Rokuro’s best friend Ryogo goes missing, Rokuro is forced to ask Benio for help to enter Magano, the realm of the evil Kegare, to rescue him

There are likely those who scoff as this show. Truly I pity it, in another season this would be a welcome addition but it had to air in the season with Boku no Hero. From the mangaka behind Binbougami ga we have a fairly standard Shounen. But, while this may be a controversial opinion, I consider this story to be better than Boku no hero’s. Will it be the best anime of the season, no it won’t. But it still has the potential to be a really good shounen anime. It starts off predictable and has no real surprises but really pulls through with its humor and the relationship between the two leads. One thing I really love is that they fight as a team, with none of this “I sit back while you wail on the bad guy” nonsense.(But there is a bit too much of a focus on the guy more than the girl in later chapters. And I dislike the harem building up but the anime shouldn’t reach that point.) Both the mains make use of combination attacks and seem even in regards to power. The trailer even looks great with showing this off. But there is a big problem, a very big problem. That problems name is Studio Pierrot, and I certainly groaned the moment I heard that they were in charge of this adaption. Pierrots animation is fairly sub-par but to top things off their most recent adaption, Tokyo Ghoul, was horrendously botched. Twin star exorcists manga already has the perfect pacing and structure to fit into a twelve episode series without alteration. Even giving it a fairly decent ending if they stick true to the source. My expectations are set to low but I still hope that they can somehow pull through on this. The story deserves that much. However they have already messed up by announcing an anime original character and that Synopsis doesn’t sound like the manga I read.

Macross Δ

Macross Δ (Macross Delta) is set eight years after the events of Macross F.

The next installment of singing divas and giant Mechas comes and I can’t say it’s looking to present something much different than previous entries. Not that this is a bad thing seeing as Macross Frontier was at least a decent watch with one or two catchy tunes. The entire squad behind this anime is a mixed bag. We have the animation studio Satelight, whom has titles of varied quality. The director too has worked on both really bad shows and pretty good ones. (Bad:Shugo Chara!, Good:Ikoku Meiro no Croisée) The series composer has a pretty bad lineup of anime he’s worked on but has worked partially on anime such as Steins gate, Bantorra and Terra E. Music wise we have three composers, two of whom worked on Rinne no Lagrange which was a fairly mediocre anime but it certainly had a great soundtrack. The PV doesn’t really look all that interesting but still while I doubt it will be a great anime; at least it has the potential to be good.

Series I do look forward to

Joker Game

In 1937, before World War II begins in earnest. Lieutenant Colonel Yuuki of the Imperial Japanese Army forms the “D Agency,” an army intelligence outfit under his command and tutelage. Army General Staff attaches Lieutenant Sakuma to observe the unit’s performance. D Agency casts a wide net to find agents beyond Japanese military personnel, and Yuuki establishes D Agency’s tenets, which go against IJA doctrine: “Don’t kill, don’t get killed, don’t get captured.” With this, Yuuki trains a team of operatives who conduct missions against domestic and foreign powers.

No translation of the original novel so I wasn’t able to check out the source. Still the trailer has me intrigued as it does seem like a mature spy thriller. My only major gripe is that the cast his heavily male dominated and they have very bland and similar designs. However considering that it’s set around the 1940s I am willing to let that go. Though the director isn’t promising as he worked as a director on the likes of Robotics notes and Segoko Basara. Series composer holds more potential as while he hasn’t done a lot, he does have Usagi Drop, Sliver Spoon and most importantly Erased in his resume. We also have Kenji Kawai on the soundtrack and I really like his previous work. This is one I am quite interested in and to be frank, anything that’s about mature adults and has a complete absence of a school setting is alright by me.

Re: Zero Kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu

In the story, Subaru Natsuki is an ordinary high school student who is lost in an alternate world, where he is rescued by a beautiful, silver-haired girl. He stays near her to return the favor, but the destiny she is burdened with is more than Subaru can imagine. Enemies attack one by one, and both of them are killed. He then finds out he has the power to rewind death, back to the time he first came to this world. But only he remembers what has happened since.

This one is a bit of a surprise. The synopsis makes it sound like the most generic setup and it is certainly true that this is showing nothing new. But there’s more to this title than you would think. An ordinary guy gets thrown into another world and naturally he thinks that a bunch of old clichés are about to happen. And they don’t. He meets a strange girl who pretty much ignores him. And the only power he has is that when he dies, he goes back to the start of the day again. I am a bit of a sucker for this Groundhog day scenario so this appeals to me. There’s just something about some ordinary person becoming strong through a time loop that I find engaging. Though in this case it’s more him making use of knowledge from his time loops to reach the best outcome. The characters are admittedly weak besides our main who has more to him than the “Average highschool student” template. Our protagonist doesn’t shake off his death’s easy as they do have an effect on him as the story goes on. As well as he loses the time he spent getting closer to people and has to start from scratch again. The director is a newbie and the series composer’s work is a mixed bag though considering his recent work I think he can do a good job. I actually think this could be one of the more interesting titles this season.

Sakamoto desu ga?

First year high school student Sakamoto isn’t just cool, he’s the coolest! Almost immediately after starting school, he began attracting everyone’s attention. The girls love him, and most of the boys resent him. There’s even a boy in the class who works as a model, but who is constantly upstaged by Sakamoto! No matter what tricks the other boys try to play on him, Sakamoto always manages to foil them with ease and grace. Though Sakamoto may seem cool and aloof, he helps others when asked, such as in the case of the boy in his class who was being constantly bullied. No matter what difficulties Sakamoto encounters, he moves through his high school life with confidence and class!

Despite appearances this is a straight up comedy and a fine one at that. The main plot is that students with problems get involved with what is essentially the perfect superhuman, Sakamoto, and learn something about themselves through him. Sakamoto is a ridiculously over the top character who is a delight to watch. No matter what he does; he does it with style. From feeding birds in trees to fighting a Japanese hornet bee with a compass. I genuinely laughed while reading this and really think that if done well this will make a great anime comedy.

Ushio to Tora 2

The second season of Ushio to Tora.

I am at least hoping Ushio to Tora can provide a finale that a Shounen series deserves rather than the usual endings where the finale is abrupt and unsatisfying or just a “life goes on as usual” still I am on board for another run of over the top Shounen action. I pray the continued adventures of Japanese Calvin and Hobbes doesn’t lose steam. Most of all though, I am looking forward to seeing what Hakumen no mono can really do.

His master reveals that he knew Sokuroku’s mentor and that by using his blood ties to his father he managed to steal the title of Yakumo from Sokuroku’s which caused him to leave the art in disgust. This does put his uncertainties with his right to the name into perspective as he never truly earned it. Teaching Sokuroku may have been his method of atonement but ultimately his pride could let him give him the name. He even reveals that he doesn’t want Yakumo to take the title either which does make his desires rather petty. His contradiction in manner is interesting in how he feels he is unworthy of his title yet has too much pride to hand it over to another. When a young upstart began begging for Yakumo to take him on as an apprentice in front of his master, his master snided at how the child chose Yakumo over him. As a performer I respect that he hid his poor condition until his act was done. Though it became apparent near the end that he was struggling to finish.

Yakumo’s reaction to his master’s confession was rather surprising in that he admitted that he had seen his faults but still respected him for taking them in. I wonder if Yakumo held any grudge against him for kicking out Sokuroku as his reaction to his death was rather cold. Yakumo has hardly been one with an emotional demeanor but one would think he would be affected somewhat during his master’s funeral. Perhaps his words about being grateful to him were but sophistry as he neared death’s door. His master was a flawed individual, blinded by his own prejudices; however he did treat and refer to Yakumo and Sokuroku as his sons. So is a man forgiven for his failings if he himself recognises them in the end?

So the master dies and everyone is pushing for Yakumo to inherit his name; though there are certainly those who sneer at his success behind his back. His performance after the funeral was quite telling as he thought before he began about how people would thinking he was going to tell a sentimental Rakugo story. Instead Yakumo tells a story which is about a man meeting death, making a deal with him and then dying as he attempts to prolong his life. To me it felt like Yakumo was saying a lot with this piece; perhaps highlighting Rakugo itself and the hesitation to let it grow with the times. Or perhaps to show that his passion was dying out without Sukeroku to be his rival. He does still enjoy Rakugo but he has a clear disdain for the backroom policies of the art form. So much so that he dissuaded a potential pupil from dirtying his hands with it Or perhaps it was an ode to his now deceased master who made his own dirty deals and now has met with death. At the end of the episode we see a return of a character not seen since episode 1, though now in a younger form. This looks to be the beginning of the time which caused Konatsu to refer to Yakumo as her father’s killer. So I wonder, did she mean that metaphorically or literally?

The BETA are still coming and with the Stasi in full control we now have rebels working to overthrow the Stasi. All the while West Germany watches from the sidelines as it tries to figure out which side to support. To make up their mind they send Kirke to East Germany to survey the situation because of her relationship with the Schwarzesmarken team. You remember her? The girl who first treated the team with utter contempt but somehow off screen became BFFs with them? Another character who was negatively affected by the time constraints. Anyway I found the little bit of humor they threw in about her “Wiping her own ass”. Crude humor tends to work me sometimes. With her coming the rebels decide to use Theodors plan to make use of her as bait to lure the Stasi into an ambush. Which works like a charm thanks to the Stasi squadron commander being a complete imbecile. Lise tried to warn you guys but you brush her off with a “Your brother is with the rebels so your opinion is worthless” I suppose without Beatrix there to whip some sense into them and Lise is too preoccupied with her brother to give a damn what happens to the rest of her squad. I love the way she jumped out of the way of a bullet, letting it hit her comrade behind her, it shows that she truly has no love for her Stasi comrades. One particularly grisly detail about this battle is that the rebels didn’t evacuate the town before fighting in it. Which meant that quite a number of civilians got caught in the crossfire. That’s sort of a glazed over part of mecha anime though chances are a Gundam explored it. When you have giant robots fighting all about the place then collateral damage is a guarantee and while Kirke wasn’t in favor of it, at least the team saw it as necessary. After all they couldn’t orchestrate mass evacuation without alerting the Stasi of their ambush.

So Lise is dead. I don’t even need to know if Theodors gunshot hit her to confirm that. With the amount of shrapnel lodged in her body you can already tell that she was done for. This acts as a nice parallels to the start of the series, where Irisdina shot one of their comrades after she was horribly wounded in a BETA attack after sacrificing herself to save another. Even the delicious irony that Theodor originally hated Irisdina because she apparently shot and killed her brother. Yet here he is, putting a bullet in his sister. She had it coming and I am glad that Theodor actually had the guts to do it instead of a third party jumping in to save him the trouble. Lise was too far gone, too broken to salvage. All that was left was to give her the death sentence but at least she got it from her brother. I still state that Lise is far from forgivable in what she has done but it is disheartening to see her reach such a tragic end. Her will and love was beaten and defiled till it was twisted to help her best serve the Stasi. Even on her last words she was speaking of how stupid it was to oppose them, for she knew all too well what they are capable of. After all the torture; having her mind,body and soul twisted beyond repair to save the one person she cares about; her final reward is a bullet to the head. This may be the only character moment Schwarzesmarken got right though it did get a tad overly melodramatic. Still we know the history between the two, a complicated relationship of family and lovers, and it certainly must have been excruciating for Theodor to pull that trigger.The final shot was reminiscent of a certain scene from Madoka Magica and I liked how you had to really listen to hear the gunshot. With Lise out of the picture or heads turn to our new main threat, that being Beatrix and her werewolf battalion. We don’t have much left to the series so she won’t have much time to shine. Still I would like her to have a nice climactic fight with Irisdina at least, considering that they seem to have history.

Satoru and friends have saved Kayo and now with very little effort; have saved the other two targets as well. I am a little disappointed at how quickly and easily this was resolved when you consider how long it took to save Kayo. I originally considered this a victim of the anime adaption trimming the manga down to fit the runtime but after having read the manga up to this episode I found that is not the case. The problem was fixed just as fast there and the only major difference is more focus on Kayo which I am glad they cut out. A lot of it was really unnecessary and was more just an additional unneeded epilogue. So one target is saved when she gets a crush on one of Satoru’s friends and starts hanging out with them. The other is saved simply by them hanging out with him more. In regards to this the other two victims feel like an afterthought. Though Satoru is well aware that taking away the murderers targets isn’t going to stop him and one of his friends brings up that thanks to his previous actions; a new girl is now a new perfect target for the killer. So he decides that he will save her as well.

Then we have the wham moment; the point we have all been waiting for. The murderer is revealed to be…Yashiro, Satoru’s teacher. I would shout in glee that I called it if it wasn’t so obvious that many others would be doing the same. If you have been watching close enough it would have been clear that the murderer couldn’t be anyone other than Yashiro and so the obvious suspect from the start turns out to be the murderer. Now, I don’t like beating a dead horse but I must bring up another anime which did this exact same thing in order to get my feelings across; Subete ga F ni Naru. That too had a mystery that ended up with a murderer that was completely obvious. It spent a majority of its time dangling a carrot in front of the viewer when any average person’s logical deduction could figure out just what the carrot was. So why is it that when Subete revealed its obvious murderer I was immensely disappointed; yet when Boku Machi does essentially the same thing why am I am not angry? Well I believe it’s a matter of substance. With Subete, everything depended on the mystery. Truly it had nothing else and if I was willing to rewatch it I would be bored as with the mystery revealed all that remained would be pretentious dialogue and a romance with no payoff or investment. With Boku Machi that isn’t the case. There are plenty of great characters and moments I would love to see again; the reveal doesn’t devalue the events before it. Sure, it’s predictable but boring? No. Ultimately this wasn’t a show that was primarily about the mystery aspect but rather more about the people surrounding it. If anything I am glad they decided to pick someone who makes sense as opposed to making it some background character with little screentime solely for shock value. There is also value in that despite being so sure it was him; this show actually made me unsure momentarily about it at times. As others have said, he was so obvious that many had concluded that he couldn’t be the killer and was just a red herring. Like Satoru we had the facts staring us in the face but the teacher was such a likable guy that we didn’t really want to believe it.

From the moment Satoru entered the car it felt ominous. Really with the nervous tapping of Yashiro on the steering wheel and his increasingly worrisome statements getting a bit extreme you could tell the reveal was coming. It was only a matter of when Yashiro would say the words and when he did, it hit Satoru like a truck. On the reveal I feel the manga’s version of Yashiros face as he unveils it trumps his anime counterpart. The anime made his triumphant smile a bit too much like a scumbag; his smile in the manga was more constrained and with that a lot more disturbing. Admittedly what follows is essentially a villainous monologue about how he couldn’t believe that Satoru was anticipating all his moves and that he may just know that Satoru came from the future. Saying that he respects Satoru for beating him and thanks to his efforts the town is now safe from Yashiro. Though now Satoru pays for that victory with his life which gives some context to the title “A town only without me”. The cliffhanger this week isn’t much of one as it suggests Satoru might die drowning in Yashiros car. We have two episodes left, Satoru has time travel powers that could kick in at any moment and he shouted a line at Yashiro which would certainly have him considering pulling him out to hear what he has to say. I am hoping they elaborate on just why Yashiro is doing all this; they gave hints with him speaking about using illegal methods to fill up the hole in his life but I would like more concrete reasoning. But with the limited time left and a lot of manga to cover that could be a tall order.

AidanAK47
@Lenlo, Nioh is something I am going to get to playing soon. Though first I will be getting through Horizon.

Lenlo
Nioh was phenomenal. Was different from Dark Souls in all the right ways.

Anonymous1335452
Your right, there have been so many great games: Zelda, Nier, Horizon, Nioh, as well as the upcoming Mario are all instant classics, and besides that there have been a bunch of other solid fun games like Sonic, Splatoon, Pyre etc.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Mario: I just got back from Ancien and magic tablet/napping princess/hirune hime/whatever its title. In brief, the fantasy scenes are the highlight and its cute, charming family adventure anime film with alot of heart/endearment, runs on kind of too long and could have had more of a story though.

Vonter
It says something in a year of great videogames when I can really recommend a Sonic game. Sonic Mania is a good platformer, with great control, charming visuals, great music and level design that feels more readable than the last games I've played in this series.

AidanAK47
@Mario, Pres and delinquent girl is my favourite but I still hope the Kuudere couple shows up. This week was hilarious with the little sister trying to get back at her brother's girlfriend only for the girlfriend to know it was her immediately and start screwing around.

SuperMario
Mine is Takurou - Chizuru (the red hair boy and orange hair girl in this week's last segment. Maybe because I have a penchant for weird girl :/

SuperMario
@Kaiser: and I will give you a review on... new spiderman movie or whatever. My friend drags me to watch it with her tonight, and I haven't watched any spiderman installment since the one in 2007. Well, whatever...

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Mario: I will review Hirune-hime tomorrow night hopefully. Also I have seen all his ghost in the shell work, Moribito and Eden of the east but never Cyborg 009 .

K-Off
@Kaiser Insurance by itself won't hold you back at all, but getting a new car certainly will. The down payment alone will set you back a couple grand and you likely won't pay off the car for about 2-4 years.

K-Off
@Aidan Jeez, my condolences. @Kaiser Auto insurance covers most accidents and the rates won't go up so long as it's not your fault and you have evidence to prove it (like a dashcam).

Kaiser-Eoghan
Financially will it particularly hold you back on things like rent, etcetera?

Kaiser-Eoghan
But in all seriousness, that is one of the big reasons I haven't learned to drive, fear of that kind of thing happening, actually I think that might put me off driving if it happened to me.

Kaiser-Eoghan
The car incident is an obvious assassination attempt and conspiracy . Easily avoidable by investing in transport by Dragon .

AidanAK47
@K-Off, Lightly hit the side of a Van coming out of T junction. Left light smashed,front bumper and bonnet damaged. Gotta pay for that and the vans side door.

SuperMario
@Aidan: you should blame your car because it's new and shiny it's more accident prone than others. Did you mention your car is red??

AidanAK47
Man isn't it great having a new car. It's also great when you crash your new car and now have to pay hefty repair fees. Fantastic. No injuries or anything but it's going to be a pain to repair.

SuperMario
Princess Principal write-up will have to wait this time tomorrow guys. Sorry for those who wait but nothing can stand a chance against my madness for Monogatari now

Kaiser-Eoghan
I still have a bunch of old anime vhs tapes in my attic yes, would take forever to list though.

movies4life
You have still VHS tapes as well in your anime collection ? (me 40)

Kaiser-Eoghan
Hard to believe I've been at this anime/manga thing since I was 11 and am now in my 30s.

SuperMario
@Boukensha: for this site specifically most of us are like you. On and off with anime; burnt out, move on with life and back again... this why I believe the readers who read this site are slightly older than your average anime audience there.

OldManBoukensha
I think I'll call myself OldManBoukensha. Hope the name sticks (this is the anonyperson)

OldManBoukensha
Thanks for the recommendations @SuperMario and @Kaiser-Eoghan san! Sometimes feels surreal how time has flown, started watching anime and discovered psgels in uni... fast forward 12 years and I hit 30 this year. lots of great memories, eagerly waiting for blog posts for favourite animes like mushishi, seirei no moribito, FMA. ah good times. Thank you for taking the baton and keeping it lively :)

SuperMario
... and it's never too late to set up your permanent username now :)

SuperMario
@Anon1329673: if you had to pick up 1 show this season, then yes Made in Abyss. I'd also recommend Princess Principal as well. For slice of life office, Shirobako? There's a show running this season from the creators of Shirobako, not neccessary set in an office place but they are about adult working as well; the name is Sakura Quest

Lenlo
So naturally, Reflection and Ranbu will be delayed tomorrow because of a move. Last for abit. I promise. Hectic time :P

SuperMario
alright, 18if down. Now's the time that I've been looking for this season. Go watch Owari nowwww

AidanAK47
Yep, the author laid out how he wanted it to end before he died. Can't say how the new guy did as the English translation of the novels has not caught up that far.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Aidan: These were presumably written from notes left behind by the author? Is there a disconnect in quality between the non-original author novels and the ones he wrote?

AidanAK47
Also the Familiar of Zero novels are better than the anime. Now, not shakespeare but the anime did not really adapt them well. The novels took the plot a little more seriously while the anime went full slapstick with it.

AidanAK47
@Kaiser, I was talking about the novels, not the anime. Someone jumped in to write the last two novels.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Of course things have changed, its been so many years since I saw the initial seasons, I couldn't tell if I'd still care.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Didn't really work in familiar of zeros case though , third and fourth seasons were a decline.

Kaiser-Eoghan
A famous example was Itazura na kiss, author died from having stuff collapse on her , anime finished the story.

AidanAK47
@Anon, Likely not now that the author is dead. There are some occasions where people jump in to complete the work like Familer of Zero but in most cases it is just left unfinished.

AidanAK47
@Movies, Watched about ten episodes and then just never got back to it. I thought it was alright.@Amagi, Indeed. Hopefully they won't be around that much.

Kaiser-Eoghan
...I think one of the two working on highschool of the deads manga died/

SuperMario
@anon1327403: funny that you mentioned Highschool of the Dead because I'm planning to watch that one real soon. But to answer your question, as far as I am aware of, no, there isn't any announcement regarding the new adaptation.

Anonymous1327403
Does anyone know if High School of the Dead will ever be picked up by another person

Kaiser-Eoghan
I'm still watching stuff though, just finished the Cobra ovas last night, fun camp in the flash gordon/Barbarella vein, though it misses the soundtrack from the old 80s version.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I love a good Bond type spy thingnow and then but I'd LOVE to see a more serious anime take on the genre.

Kaiser-Eoghan
If kakegurui is enjoyable in the same way a trash-exploitation film is I could see myself watching .

Kaiser-Eoghan
Count me in for those who weren't happy with the progress of abyss' manga.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Then again my gaming days are long long in the past for the most part. The humour in gamers would just turn me off now, I've lost interested in most anime comedy.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I was aware of ANN being down, for the most part I really only skimmed their articles. I wish sega would just put Sonic down, its been on decline for so long.

SuperMario
@KTravlos: have fun with whatever you doing in the next 10 days mates. And if you have time, sample Princess Principal as well

KTravlos
I will be off the net the next 10 days, so sorry if I do not answer any replies etc. Have a good time all! See you later.

KTravlos
took the hiatus of my shows as a chance to sample the current season. Saw first episodes of Kakeguiri, Abyss, and Altair. Kakeguiri and Abyss really did have great first episodes, that grab you. Altair was a bit too old-fashioned, but I will probably continue watching it. Kakeguiri had excellent OP and ED, while Abyss had in general great music. And yeah, you guys were not kidding about beauty

SuperMario
And I still enjoy Gamers thoroughly. Not sure if it can keep up with the misunderstanding mess about relationships from the main cast but so far the show is hilarious

KTravlos
so now I know about why ANN did not work. @Holystockings yes, again I should detest it for many things it has, but they pulled it off and I like it.

Holystockings
I'll be honest here. I would have never guessed that Kakegurui would have been this good.

Vonter
@AidanAK47 This year there have been a lot of good games. Too many to play seriously. I do wonder how deliberations would be since more than scores or genres I don't feel a all out winner, more than different games excelling at different things.

Lenlo
So finally finished Kado, and I have to say I am not a fan of the shark jump.

AidanAK47
Also too many games coming this month. SubaHibi, Sonic Mania and Ys Seven. Not to mention cold steel now out. I still need to get blood orange complete and in comes a small, medium and two extra large time sinks.

AidanAK47
And in other news Voltorn season three is out but only seven episodes long. With another fourth season coming in October which is 6 episodes long. I wonder why Netflix are spilting up seasons like this?

AidanAK47
So, not sure if anyone has heard this or not but the Anime News Network site has been hacked. Hence why you can no longer access it.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Mario: blancanieves was modern silent take on snow white, a different spin on the story.

SuperMario
It's like this: The Artist gets the "look" of silent film, but Guy Maddin's works get the "feel" of it

Kaiser-Eoghan
I can remember Mitchum was in an underated remake of the big sleep......though you could really tell even just from listening to him speak he was a pothead.

SuperMario
@Kaiser: I agree with you that Guy Maddin's works are more of a representative of neo-silent than the Artist (the Artist is just so... wide-appealing for my taste. It tries to please everyone). I always feel that Maddin is born in a wrong era. Had he born in the silent era he'd definately be a legend.

SuperMario
@Kaiser: I don't blame the audience from the 50s who didn't get the film. I didn't quite get it the first time either but the film just keep growing on me. I remembet Robert Mitchum in his noir detective role as well, most notably his role in Out of the Past. The lead girl in that movie has a very typical femme fatale look as well, which mean she's gorgeous

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Mario: I've been looking into Guy Maddin's work, its occasionally funny in an absurdist way and alot of the appeal comes from how strange his films are, while I think that film the artist was a good take on silent films, Maddins tributes to silent film are far more successful.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Mario: People weren't ready for night of the hunter in the 50s, one of those baffling situations that it flopped when originally released, frustratingly that director never got to work again. For me I think that was one of Robert Mitchum's best roles, along with his one in Cape fear.

SuperMario
I watched No at the time of its release. Good watch although I don't remember much of it now. Not only they have the same actors as Neruda, those films are directed from the same director. This fude also directed Jackie last year that star Nayalie Portman as the First Lady

Kaiser-Eoghan
@Movies: The other Chinese anime attempts aren't any better I hear.

movies4life
Watch in a day the whole season of Gin no Guardian. Is have so much potential in story and animation but somehow something missing. maybe is just for growing up Kids

AidanAK47
@Anon, Like SAO season 2 then. Myself and a friend tried to watch that for the sole reason of taking the piss out of it. Ended up not finishing it because there wasn't anything to take the piss out of because barely anything happened each episode and it was so boring that we couldn't take it anymore.

KTravlos
I have seen "The Secret in their Eyes". A good film. I do recommend "Neruda", and the film "No" which as some of the same actors.

Anonymous1324414
People thought they were 'ironically' watching a bad movie until they realized the movie's so bad it can't even be enjoyed on an ironic level.

AidanAK47
I am not surprised that the Emoji movie is bad. But I am quite astonished that people seem to be surprised that it's bad.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Gah, I would hate that, having to put up with a kid in cinemas, having to see , having to financially benefit some anti-art film like that.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I enjoy the surrealism that is present in some Latin filmaking. As for secret in their eyes, its got that great stadium scene and twist later on, though some of the exchanges between actors/characters seemed awkward, overall while I liked it, it felt like an extended tv episode.

SuperMario
I'm also looking forwards to listen to their new OPs. Mnogatari's soundtrack is the only anime soundtrack that I bought a physical CD. Still listen to all those songs quite frequently

SuperMario
So Owarimonogatari will air in 2 days. I honestly don''t know how I should review it (by episode? by each arc? by day? Rating or not?) but dang I'm gonna review it.

SuperMario
You can try another Latin American film, The Secret in Their Eyes (not the REMAKE one). There was a 10 minutes unbroken (CGI) shot that follow the leads in the football stadium to look for their suspect. Quite impressive

SuperMario
@KTravlos: I missed my chance to watch Neruda when it was screening in my local cinema; but I've heard good things about the film. People said it's an unconventional but effective biopic film. The more I watch Latin American cinema, the more I feel the unique charm from the area that I don't feel anywhere else.

Masky
Still, weird manga because its kind of increasingly obvious that the people behind Nana are the bad guys .-. They are just overly sinister.

Masky
So skipped third chapter and just read fourth chapter of Talentless Nana. Ok, seems like it might have more of hook now? Villain protagonist vs hero antagonist?(who also can't be killed off first because they are immortal, so she would need to figure out how to deal with him first)

Vonter
I'm also as of now noticing this Isekai trend. And to be honest the most disappointing aspect for me, is how formulaic the worlds are. This is also a complain in RPGs. But I don't get how like 7 or more of this, feels like the setting could be the same world. I don't know, I just think there should be ways to make each feel more unique.

Vonter
I went to Chicago and bought a Switch and lots of manga. I was happy with my choices. Murcielago is a violent buddy cop. Delicious Dungeon is a creative take on a dungeon crawler setting and funny. The 7th garden is a well composed manga, if anything a good example for sequential art reference. I also read several chapters of Mushoku Tensei, which is Isekai but heck it did made me care.

AidanAK47
It's like the difference between reading Konosuba and watching Konosuba. I read the novels up to date and while it's fine it's like reading the script to a comedy skit. It's not nearly as entertaining as seeing it in action. The animation and actors just added so much more to it.

AidanAK47
@Puran, I actually agree with you on that. I read the manga before watching the anime and couldn't really get into it. However I felt that things would change when seeing it animated and indeed it did. Currently I would place the anime adaption above it's source material.

In other news, I read the manga for Made in Abyss and I didn't really like it...? Felt kinda boring and soulless? While the anime seemed to have some sort of magic and wonder. It kinda spoiled my enjoyment of the Anime. I think I'll drop it for a while and marathon it later to let the bad taste from my mouth subside.

Anonymous1320940
my girlfriend is coming back home and I am so looking forward to getting my cock sucked again. Sex starved since Wednesday

Kaiser-Eoghan
@K-off: Genuinely missed Tsugumi when her character got the axe.

AidanAK47
Getting the made in abyss post up tonight but it looks like the other two are going to have to wait. Kakegurui's sixth episode will be airing this week and Fate's episode won't be subbed until friday. I will see if I can get secondhand subs to do a writeup but I would prefer to watch it with UTW subs.

K-Off
The spin-offs are actually a good read because it's essentially similar to the opening few chapters of the main story.

Kaiser-Eoghan
Ah seoul station, that director (or at least the animator) has done some other animated films that I've yet to get round to.

Kaiser-Eoghan
@K-off: Maybe a sequel or more spinoffs planned? I've not read any of the spinoff come to think of it.

K-Off
The film was interesting, but I remember I watched it after Train to Busan and its animated prequel so I found it lacking in comparison.

K-Off
I'll just say that the manga does not end climatically nor in any interesting way. It ends up focusing on a new set of characters near the end (what kind of writer thinks that's a good idea?) and rushes the MC's story.

Kaiser-Eoghan
The film adaptation of I am a hero is better than it has any right to be.

Lenlo
Apologies, The Reflection for this week should be up tomorrow. Rather busy is all because I have a 4 month long project presentation tomorrow.

AidanAK47
@K-Off, I think there may be about three of them in my county. I tried a Hybrid but it just didn't do anything for me. If it was out yet and if I was rich I would buy a Faraday FFzero1.

K-Off
@Aidan Right, forgot about that. I guess it really would be a problem out in the sticks, that's what hybrids are for I suppose. I don't know about urban areas in Ireland, but in NYC and LA electric charging stations are everywhere.

AidanAK47
@K-Off, I wanted to buy an electric car originally but was talked out of it because we don't have gas stations with chargers for one.@Supermario, Ho boy. I often joke about fan-service series being porn but that show quite literally is porn. The story isn't deep either as it's omnibus format so the story resets every four episodes or so.

SuperMario
I am in the mood today so I finally checking out that controversial Yosuga no Sora - to see if it has any deeper, more intimate message or it's just a harem setting for soft-incest-porn that despise everyone. Wish me luck guys

K-Off
Yeah, that's a shame. But I think it's bound to happen, now that shot put got one.

Kaiser-Eoghan
I think I would find it quite difficult to find a storyline that made mathematics enjoyable. Not a numbers guy, more on the arty side.

Anonymous1312485
I don't think I know anything Japanese young people hate more than math.

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It’s hard for me not to go overboard on Tsuki ga Kirei: out of all the show I’ve followed this season, I resonated the most to this one; but even when I’m judging this show objectively, Tsuki ga Kirei is one of the most perfect one, in a way that it achieved exactly what it […]

Seikaisuru Kado was a title which caught my attention for a number of reasons. For one it’s visuals showed not a single teenager in sight and a cast mainly consisting of working adults. Another is that it deals with a premise not often tackled in anime, Philosophical Science Fiction. The story features an alien being […]

Here comes one of the most under-appreciated anime of this Spring season. ID-0 has many hassles that keeps viewers away from watching it: Netflix exclusive, full CG animation and a plot that just plain weird and a bit incomprehensive at first view. I originally took it as nothing more than fun spooky little-seen show until […]

I remember, back in our first impression of this series, Aidan remarked that Grimoire of Zero isn’t your typical LN-adaptations, but he didn’t know what to make of it. To be honest, after watching an entire cour, I’m still unsure what to make of it myself. This show has some serious flaws, yet despite all […]

(Note: Since psgels didn’t give his final review to the first season, this review is for the entirety of Eccentric Family. If I had to grade the second season alone, it’s 90/100). Doesn’t matter how you look at it, the Eccentric Family is a unique show, in a way it feels and tastes like no […]

The Little Witch Academia series has been something that’s a long time coming. Ever since Studio Trigger made the original Anime OVA back in 2013 I have been hotly anticipating the time when it would be fleshed out into it’s own anime series. I love both the original OVA and the enchanted Parade so this […]

In Window Horses, or its full name Window Horses – The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming, many characters keep asking the main protagonist, a Stick Girl in an otherwise fully formed character designs, why is she wearing a chador, in which she’s unable to reply. It’s her first trip to go overseas, so she […]

I remember back in the first impression of last Winter season, I regarded Demi-chan as a better Monster Girls slice of life subgenre over this one. But as the season progressed, while Demi-chan run out of its steam quickly, this one picked up its pace after an underwhelming first episode to become a much more […]